Camp Como

July has been filled with adventure.  This photo shows you just who accompanied me on the journey to Colorado, a 14 hour drive in a 15 passenger van across the plains of Kansas.  I actually had volunteered to go for just that drive, as an assistant chauffeur, and had no idea what God would have in store for me while I was there.  He worked out all the details to make me available and I just had to trust the outcome to Him.

In addition to watching 3 of my kids "encounter the mountain wilderness", I got to know some fun teens, met some wonderful college students and connected with my kids youth pastor on a deeper level.  We climbed boulders, cliffs and mountains and the finale was a 12,500 ft peak named "Little Baldy".  It was a daunting climb but I kept up with all the youngsters.  I was rewarded with this beautiful view from the top and left a little monument on the rock (above) for another explorer to find. 

Granted, my adventure blessed me in many ways (including one I'll share on my next post) but it did come at a cost to my comfort zone.  Lack of showers, sleeping on the ground in an Indian teepee (that was a struggle), outhouses,  lack of regular showers and the smell of stinky, teenager feet next to my sleeping bag each night.  Despite the "hardships", I'm so thankful I stepped out of my comfort zone, saw the world through the eyes of a teenager again, enjoyed the overwhelming beauty of God's creation, connected with people whose experiences are worlds away from my own and worshiped God Who gave me this escape.  BUT, it is good to be back at home in my bed. :)

A June full of "camping"

Our first week was church Day Camp as we all helped with a 3 day VBS at church.  The older kids filled many roles including a skit (pictured below), Boo was a camper, my man taught kids archery and I was the potter.  Lots of work but lots of fun.

The next week was Boo's turn for a 3 day survival skills camp at the Conservation Department.  The skills they learned were based on the children's book, Hatchet, and were lots of fun I'm told.  Here she is at camp with a good buddy.

During the same week, Spiderman & Goose attended Camp ER where they had hands-on science all week long, especially related to the anatomy/medical world.  They had an incredible time.

The following week was the older 3's turn to experience the same survival camp that Boo had been through. 

Top all this off with a fun visit with Aunt Laura, who rode her little scooter all the way from Chicago.  June was a blur but one filled with lots of fun opportunities.  (I don't see our summer slowing down until August)  :)

Much of May

May was a blur around the house.  The kids helped me unload a truckload of rock and did some beautiful landscaping around the house.  We built the above raised bed for our strawberry plants (the cage is to deter the bunnies and birds), one twice as large for various veggies and moved a dumptruck load of tree mulch around the property.  We're trying a Back to Eden style project on our old garden bed since the soil is such terrible clay.  As you can see below, the weather interrupted some of that as we received around 10 inches of rain in a week's time.  The neighbors newly planted corn gave us a whole new layer of topsoil, wanted or not, and our footbridge washed 30 feet downstream.  Not to mention a flooded basement through the window well and a tree toppled due to soggy ground.  What a doozy!

If life gives you flooding, go play in the mud....

Where did April go?

I can't even pretend to catch you up on the 3 months that have gone by quietly on this blog.  Life has been anything but quiet.  Here are a few shots...  Above is a poster Boo designed and won 2nd place for - earning herself a $5 prize.  Look at that pride and joy.

It became official.  Ethan is taller than I am and to celebrate, he bought me a bag of Swedish Fish, my favorites! 

The kids finished the school year and here they are with friends after a fun field day.  We're so thankful for good friends.

Sporting shots

 

I thought I'd take a minute to share some sporting photos since these opportunities have been so much fun for my kids. They go back a few months but have sat here long enough.  :)  Above is a shot of my guys on a dodgeball team.  It was only a one day tournament but they had such a great time I'm sure we'll do it again this year.

 

On a much more regular note, my kids are so thankful to have a home school basketball team to learn and practice with each week.  They all were reluctant to begin playing basketball in previous years but now that they're comfortable, they really even love to compete in the games.  The photo above and below are of the 7th & 8th grade basketball teams.  They had their games in the fall against the local Catholic school.  As we have a limited number of participating kids, we did have some younger kids help out with these teams (including Goose and Spiderman). 

 

 

 The 5th & 6th grade teams played their games in February and March.  You can see there are some similar faces in the photos below.  My kids just love to play and even Boo began learning some skills at practice and she hopes to play on the team next year.

 

This boys team had the added opportunity to play in a tournament with some small town public school teams.  It was fierce competition and they did very well.  They lost to the winning team by only one point but it did light a new fire under their feet.  I loved watching my man coach these boys and relive his own fond basketball memories.  What a great year in sports.

Goose is now 12!

 

 

Look at that smile.  This is my girl who can't wait to grow old so she is pleased as punch to turn 12.  On her birthday she opted to make her own no-bake cookie balls instead of having a birthday cake.  What a change from the years I stayed up til midnight to decorate some elaborate cake in her favorite theme.  I've seen her maturing in many other ways as well and I'm proud of the heart for Jesus and the love for life she shows me every day.

 

Knowing that age 12 is the last big sleepover party, Goose decided to have one this year.  You can see a good group of her friends up above and there was lots of laughing in the house.  I actually thought I might pass out from the fumes of all the nail polish and remover that was so popular that night.  :)  

Below you can see the dessert we attempted.  We recreated Goose's favorite vacation food memory and made fondue.  You can see an assortment of fruit and goodies that we dipped in our chocolate flavor choices.  It was absolutely delicious!! 

 

Our First Teenager

Yep, it's actually happened.  Jaybird turned 13 last month and there is no going back.  We took this opportunity to change the way we celebrate his birthdays, to do it in a more "manly" way.  We took him out for lunch, just Murph and I, and he chose McD's as he loves Big Macs. :)  We had a fun time with him but also had some more meaningful discussions about growing up, what is to come in his responsibilities and expectations, how we saw him maturing and so on.  We really wanted him to be affirmed that we saw his unique giftings and wanted the best for his future. 

That evening we had his special dinner with the rest of the kids and presented him with this"certificate" to place in his room.  It is based on a book called The Blessing and it basically expresses that we are thankful to be his parents, we see his good qualities and we commit to always love and support him.  It also has a scripture passage we turned into our prayer for him and our signatures.  With such a silly and fun loving guy, I wasn't sure if this was too formal for him but he LOVED it!  After dinner, we all prayed specifically for him and it was heartwarming to hear his siblings praying for God's blessing on his future.  Can you see the joy on this guy's face (or the trace of mustache that has been growing there)?

He really is a special guy and we love watching him mature and develop into the man he will become.  What a gift to have him in our home.